1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to vehicle electrical and electronic devices and more particularly to a device and a method for activating the electronic odometer of an vehicle without drawing electrical power from the vehicle's electrical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The accumulated mileage of a vehicle, and automobile's and motorcycles in particular, is a primary factor in determining the remaining useful life, and therefore the value, of the vehicle. In past decades, many vehicles featured mechanical odometers having a series of numbered wheels for recording and displaying an accumulated mileage on the vehicles' dashboards. The mileage displayed by such mechanical odometers typically remains visible and accurate irrespective of whether a vehicle's engine or electrical system is on or off.
In recent years, mechanical odometers have largely been replaced by electronic odometers that require power from a vehicle's electrical system to display an electronically stored mileage on a screen or other electronic readout. Generally, power is supplied to the electronic odometer of a vehicle when the vehicle's ignition switch is in either a first or second ignition position, or when a “trip” button on the vehicle's dashboard is depressed. When an electronic odometer is not receiving power from a vehicle's electrical system (i.e., when the ignition switch is not in the proper position, when the battery is dead, or when power cannot be delivered to the odometer for some other reason, such as damage to the electrical system) the mileage display is typically blank.
A problem commonly associated with vehicles that employ electronic odometers is that it can be difficult or prohibitively expensive to verify the accumulated mileage of such a vehicle if the vehicle's keys are not available, or if the vehicle's electrical system has been damaged to the extent that it is no longer able to deliver power to the odometer. This problem is of particular concern in the context of automobile auctions, in which large numbers of damaged vehicles are supplied by insurance companies and other suppliers for resale to dealers or other prospective buyers.
Attendees at automobile auctions (either in-person or online via the internet) generally have a limited amount of time to browse an auction's vast inventory in order to determine which vehicles are of interest, and to approximate the value of each of those vehicles. To facilitate efficient browsing and valuation, auctions will typically provide prospective buyers with documentation regarding a vehicle's specifications as well as photographic evidence of an automobile's accumulated mileage (i.e., a photograph of the automobile's dashboard with the odometer displaying the mileage).
If an auction is not able to provide evidence of an automobile's mileage, the auction will generally have to sell the automobile at a heavily reduced price in order to justify the risk assumed by a buyer that the mileage of the automobile is higher than would normally be expected given the age of the vehicle. Moreover, the unverified mileage of an automobile must be noted on the automobile's title which decreases the downstream value of the automobile and promotes fraudulent misrepresentation of the automobile's mileage. In cases where the mileage of a vehicle cannot be readily ascertained because of damage to the vehicle (as opposed to a missing key or a dead battery) the buyer also assumes the risk that there may be significant damage to the internal components of the automobile, such as the automobile's computer or other electrical components that are costly to repair or replace. Such damage may not be readily apparent upon casual inspection of the automobile, especially in the online context where prospective buyers must rely entirely upon pictures that the auction chooses to present.
It would therefore be advantageous to have an apparatus and a method for determining the accumulated mileage of an automobile having an electronic odometer without requiring power from the automobile's electrical system. It would further be advantageous to have such an apparatus and method that could be implemented quickly and without significant disassembly or modification of the automobile. It would further be advantageous to have such an apparatus that is highly portable.